1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to adjustable jackets for use over insulated fluid transporting pipes or tubes. More particularly, the invention relates to adjustable metal jackets and methods for covering insulated pipes therewith having fittings with various angles other than a right angle to prevent damage to the insulation from the environment.
2. Reported Developments
Industrial conduits, such as used in the chemical, petrochemical, power, pulp and refinery fields require insulation for temperature-controlled processes, energy conservation and safety. The insulation helps maintain a desired temperature of the medium carried by the conduits which is different from the temperature of the environment. Most of the industrial conduits are located outdoors and must be protected from water. The penetration of water and moisture from the air into an insulation system can cause loss of insulating performance and corrosion of the conduits. The loss of insulation property can also affect the contents of the conduit, such that a vapor component of the conduit""s contents may become condensed, i.e. the liquid may freeze and disrupt the fluid flow within the conduit or rupture the conduit. The partially frozen liquid may also be transferred through the conduit into processing equipment, thereby adversely affecting the operation of the equipment.
Typically, industrial pipe insulation is protected by jackets made of metal, such as aluminum and stainless steel, or flexible and semi-rigid materials, such as thermoplastics. It is relatively easy to install weather-tight jackets to straight run insulation by putting the overlap of the jackets in a watershed position in order to direct water away from the area of the overlap. Installing jackets, especially metal jackets, on fittings having elbows of 90xc2x0, 45xc2x0 and Tees in a weather-tight fashion has been problematic. Conforming the shape of the jackets to elbow fittings covered with insulation is rendered rather difficult because of the various pipe diameters and the various outside diameters of the insulation covering the pipes. In practice it is economically disadvantageous to produce pre-shaped jackets for covering various pipe sizes covered by various thickness of insulations.
The prior art has provided, for pipe elbow insulations, a jacket comprising overlapping connecting flanges formed with inter-engageable ribs and grooves. The jacket is assembled around a fibrous insulation which is wrapped around a pipe elbow and angularly related pipes connected to the elbow. The grooves serve as interval moisture traps for condensation.
The prior art has also provided a method for the application of a protective cover around heat or cool insulated tube bends. In the method, a corrugated bend-form material is spirally wound into a tube and the adjoining tube edges are secured, such as by lapping, to form a non-slip joint. The corrugated tube is cut lengthwise into two or more parts which are then placed over the insulated pipe bend. The cut edges are re-joined to form the protective cover.
Still another approach of the prior art includes the provision of a jacket having a plurality of pleats that provide points of flexure so that the jacket can be conformed to the bends and curves in the underlying insulation.
Illustrative prior art approaches for providing protection jackets are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,153,546; 4,054,985; and 5,775,379. While these and other approaches and proposals of the prior art greatly improved the insulation systems around pipes and tubes, there exits a need to further improve such insulation systems. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable jacket which would enclose the insulation material over the bends and joints of pipes and tubes so that the jacket can be tightened and tensioned over insulations having various diameters.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of easily installable jackets which, by their orientation on pipes and tubes, will prevent entry of water and moisture into the underlying insulation.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of jackets which can be pre-fabricated and which can be installed at the site of application without cutting or other cumbersome steps.
A still further object of the invention is the protection from corrosion of the pipes and tubes transporting fluids thereby maintaining the integrity of such fluids.
The present invention provides adjustable jackets for insulated conduits which carry fluids therein. The invention consists of eight embodiments.
In the first embodiment, the invention provides: a first section of semi-circular, cross-sectional configuration having flanges equipped with grooves; a second section of semi-circular cross-sectional configuration having flanges equipped with ridges. The flanges are incrementally adjustable over the insulated conduit by snap-fitting the ridges into the grooves.
In the second embodiment the invention provides for incremental adjustment of the first section to the second section on two opposite sides of the jacket.
In the third embodiment there are provided two adjustments of the first and second sections on opposite sides of the jacket. One adjustment is incremental, and the other adjustment on the opposite side of the jacket is slideable. The incremental adjustment is made first, followed by the slideable adjustment so that the jacket tightly conforms to the configuration of the underlying insulated conduit.
In the fourth embodiment there are provided two identical slideable adjustments on the opposite sides of the jacket. The slideable adjustments run from a fixed point in the top layer to any point in the top layer until the desired tightness is achieved.
In the fifth embodiment there are provided two identical slideable adjustments on the opposite sides of the jacket.
In the sixth embodiment there are provided combination adjustments using the first-to-fifth embodiments.
In the seventh embodiment there is provided one semi-circular ridge in the bottom layer, and a rounded elevational portion in the top layer, the combination of which allows tightening of the layers beginning from the rounded elevational portion towards the other end of the layer as desired during the installation process.
More particularly, the jacket comprises:
a longitudinal first section having end portions and side portions and being of a generally semi-circular cross-sectional configuration;
a longitudinal second section having end portions and side portions and being of a generally semi-circular cross-sectional configuration,
wherein said longitudinal first section and said longitudinal second section form a generally cylindrical configuration over an insulated conduit;
a longitudinal flange projecting from each of said side portions of said first section;
a longitudinal flange projecting from each of said side portions of said second section;
each of said longitudinal flanges having a top layer and a bottom layer, said top layer of said longitudinal flanges projecting from each of said side portions of said first section and said second section comprises a groove having an open side and a closed side defined by:
a first flat portion;
a rounded elevational portion constituting one side of said groove extending above the first flat portion and being contiguous therewith;
an extended flat middle portion constituting a top of said groove running form said rounded elevational portion and being parallel to said first flat portion; and
a slightly declining second flat portion extending from said middle portion and constituting the open side of said groove;
said bottom layer of said longitudinal flanges projecting from each of said side portions of said first section and said second section comprises a longitudinal ridge extending towards said flat middle portion of said groove in the top layer for slideable engagement therewith whereby said first section and said second section of the jacket allows tightening of the jacket over an insulated conduit.
In the eighth embodiment unlimited tightening of the top and bottom layers is made possible by the provision of a bottom layer having a semi-circular ridge therein and a half channel in the top layer which bends toward the bottom layer. The half channel during tightening may be positioned adjacent to the semi-circular ridge on either side thereof, or it may be positioned away from the semi-circular ridge at one side of the ridge as required to tighten the jacket fitting. The semi-circular ridge directs water away from the jacket fitting while the half-channel prevents water from penetrating into the jacket fitting.
More particularly, the jacket comprises:
a longitudinal first section having end portions and side portions and being of a generally semi-circular cross-sectional configuration;
a longitudinal second section having end portions and side portions and being of a generally semi-circular cross-sectional configuration,
wherein said longitudinal first section and said longitudinal second section form a generally cylindrical configuration over an insulated conduit;
a longitudinal flange projecting from each of said side portions of said first section;
a longitudinal flange projecting from each of said side portions of said second section;
each of said longitudinal flanges having a top layer and a bottom layer,
said top layer of said longitudinal flanges projecting from each of said side portions of said first section and said second section comprises a half channel bending towards and conforming to said bottom layer;
said bottom layer of said longitudinal flanges projecting form each of said side portions of said first section and said second section comprises:
a small flat portion at one end of the layer;
a semi-circular ridge adjacent to the small flat portion; and
a large flat portion extending away from the semi-circular ridge; wherein
said top layer and said bottom layer form a slideable engagement with each other thereby allowing tightening of the jacket over an insulated conduit.
The embodiments of the invention include adjustable jackets for straight and bend configurations of conduits.